A care manager has been named as a finalist in the Bluebird Care Covid Heroes Awards.

Mandy Sparkes, of Blue Care Croydon, has been recognised for her emergency response to Covid-19 and for her commitment to supporting the wider community.

Bluebird Care has a franchise network of over 200 businesses, and usually celebrates their employees with their annual awards.

This year, the awards have been adapted to highlight those who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic. 

“I was surprised to be nominated and even more surprised and thrilled to be shortlisted," said Mandy.

"It is important for me to provide safe support to our customers during these difficult times.”

After organising respite care for some volunteer carers through the local Carers Information Centre, Mandy developed an excellent relationship with the centre’s fund manager.

Your Local Guardian:

She then discovered that additional funds were available to Croydon residents and went on to identify families in need to raise awareness of the money available to pay for home care services.

Many of these people were not aware that such finance was available and, for those who requested additional support, Mandy helped refer them to the Centre and guide them through their applications.

As a result, Mandy has supported over 15 families to access often vital home care services during the pandemic while also helping the fund to allocate their resources effectively.

Speaking of Mandy reaching the final, Dean Slade, Owner of Bluebird Care Croydon, said: “We are incredibly proud of Mandy’s achievement.

"In addition to managing our care provision, Mandy’s support for unpaid carers in our community and her work to get funding for them has helped many families during these unprecedented times.

"Mandy is a credit to our Bluebird Care team!”